As we all know, the Right has, at times, harnessed a latent racism that runs deep in parts of this culture. We saw it with National’s Iwi/Kiwi and we see it in everything Lhaws does.
Don’t get me wrong toad – i very much enjoy your posts here and on Channel 2 and you seem to be both well connected and have well thought out positions.
However, in this case, you seem to show a bit of the arrogance and superiority with the liberal left – the people choose but only when we let them choose.
Personally, I have no view on the super shitty (long time since I left AK) but would have liked to see Maori seats. Happy to see Whanganui.
But if you think it’s only right that the majority can decide whether to proceed with the super city then you should have no issue with the majority deciding other matters of concern.
My view is that is what Governments are elected to do – make decisions.
I think this is all a massive waste of time, effort and money, however…
Correct me if I am wrong but wasn’t Maori an oral language prior to the settlor’s arrival – in which case how can there be any evidence suggesting the spelling of the name being correct or incorrect – surely any Maori spelling is going to come down to phonetics?
jagilby, I covered this in my submission to the NZGB.
Excerpt:
The spelling of the name of the pre-European settlement has been determined by the legitimate authority, Te Taura Whiri Reo MÄori, to be ‘Whanganui’; this is the spelling of the name of the river on whose mouth the city is located, the spelling of which was previously agreed by both MÄori and PÄkehÄ residents […] if the word is not a MÄori word, then the local iwi’s pronunciation is irrelevant. If it is, then PÄkehÄ have no right to redefine it without the consent of iwi. The MÄori language is clearly included in the meaning of ‘tÄonga katoa’ as used in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (article 2) and rights to possession (‘rangatiratanga’) are similarly guaranteed.
the claim that local MÄori pronunciation renders the ‘h’ silent is no cause for the word to be spelt differently except with the consent of those with the original claim to the word and its pronunciation. There are precedents for this among other iwi/hapÅ« and in other rohe for example, the rendition of ‘ng’ as ‘k’ by some KÄi Tahu/NgÄi Tahu, as in ‘Aoraki’ rather than ‘Aorangi’. But in the case in point, those who are legitimately entitled under the Treaty to claim that ‘Whanganui’ should be pronounced ‘Wanganui’ as a matter of preserving their control over their tÄonga are not doing so; in fact, quite the opposite. Te RÅ«nanga o Tupoho, a subset of the very people whose consent should be required to retain the spelling as ‘Wanganui’, is campaigning for the change to ‘Whanganui’. Likewise Wanganui residents who complain that they don’t want their city’s name pronounced ‘Fonganui’ are, with due respect, not legitimately entitled to change or retain a spelling for that purpose without the consent of those for whom the name is tÄonga, and whose possession is guaranteed by the Treaty.
Thanks Lew for clearing that up. Just wasn’t sure. Makes sense if they agreed on words to use them.
In any case I fail to see how this has suddenly become such an emotive issue nearly 170 years after the fact. With all due respect I think that Maoridom are facing far more pressing issues that don’t seem to elicit the same level of raw emotion. Anecdotally (through talking to Maori friends of mine etc) this is as much a frustration of Maori as it is the rest of the country… when will we stop placing so much focus on these minor issues?
“They don’t have different versions of written english for all the various ways she is spake throughout the world.The written version is fairly consistent.”
Sure but that was my point, My understanding was that Maori was an oral language, the same can’t be said for English (so I think you’re really grasping straws to link the two) – unless you are saying that Maori also developed the English alphabet through pure coincidence? The only way to initially derive a written Maori language surely must have been to use phonetics – as Lew pointed out with spellings being mutually agreed between Maori and Pakeha. The only thing I found interesting about your allusion to accents in this instance was the fact tha some have actually argued that it was the local W-h-anganui dialect the confused the spelling in the first place.
What I really can’t understand out of this whole affair though is that, of the 889 submissions received by the NZGB, 9 were neutral. Who goes to all the trouble/ has time to write a neutral submission???
It’s always been an important issue, and people who care strongly about it have been using ‘Whanganui’ for decades (even though sometimes it means their mail ends up in Whangarei). It’s just only really come to a head now because people have only now exercised their access to the proper channels.
MÄori was an oral language, but it was quite quickly codified into a written orthography — several times, though the definitive one is H.W Williams’ A Dictionary of the MÄori Language (1844), in which both the words ‘whanga’ and ‘nui’ were included with those spellings. The language was rendered into written form according to a systematic process, as languages are – it wasn’t random or full of exceptions and oddities. The words have their ordinary meaning in the name, so there’s no reason at all why they shouldn’t have their ordinary spelling.
They don’t have different versions of written english for all the various ways she is spake throughout the world.The written version is fairly consistent.
‘Wanga’ as a part of the written version of the language doesn’t mean anything, it isn’t a word.
I don’t dispute it is/was an issue… its relative importance as an issue, well I’m afraid that is something that that I dispute.
I just can’t believe that we are quite literally arguing semantics given all the other problems we face currently.
Discussion on Radio Live: it’s classic Key-speak (i.e. barely intelligible, because clarity is the enemy of popularity), but it sounds like he’s backing Laws:
MICHAEL LAWS: Well you know you may actually or your Government – well as you know will be the final arbiter on that. What’s your view of local democracy?
JOHN KEY: Yeah, well we try and listen to local people where we can. The – I don’t know, it’s a bit of an interesting debate, isn’t it?
MICHAEL LAWS: Well seriously – I just, you know, I didn’t mean to talk about that this morning but it will come to you, it will come to the Government because the final decision’s not made by the New Zealand Geographic Board.
But four out of five Wanganui people voted – at the referendum this year, I think 19,000 people voted, and 80 per cent of them said listen, keep things as they are. Is that persuasive for you?
JOHN KEY: Yeah, well, it sounds like a pretty strong argument. I haven’t waded my way through the whole thing other than just sort of occasionally hearing it, you know, bubbling along in the background. But, yeah, I mean in the end it should be ultimately the decision I would have thought for local people.
MICHAEL LAWS: Thank you. I’m delighted to hear that.
Did either Laws or Key manage a single intelligible sentence in that conversation?
Oh and in honour of Michael Laws’ insistence on incorrect spelling he shall henceforth be referred to as: Mikael Laus, Mare of Wanganui (until he learns to spell at which point Michael Laws, Mayor of Whanganui will be appropriate once more).
My name originates in France. When a Maori, Eskimo or Ethiopian etc spells or pronounces my name wrongly I politely correct them. I dont however give them the privelege of telling me how it really should be. Its mine and from my culture. Even if there are 4 Eskimos arguing I am wrong versus me (80% versus 20%) they are still wrong.
What about Whanganui belonging to Maori language and culture does Laws not understand? Who knows if Laws is racist? He is definitely ignorant.
I can’t help agreeing with Dr Grant – Whanganui was incorrectly spelt and and its misspelling offended the speakers of the language ‘lending’ the name. Mr Laws needs to take a deep breath and ponder….but, on reflection, it is a vain hope.
And perhaps Mr Key should remain silent on these things until briefed – one can see another clash with the Maori Party heading over the horizon if his government bends to Mr Laws’ position. And Mr Williamson is an ideal minister to make the final decision…..noted for his guarded prudence…..
what a dumb-assed comment from the PM. Maori is one of New Zealand’s national languages, therefore maori place names should be spelt correctly. It is beyond belief that this is an issue.
Use of a national language is not a matter for local referenda . ..
So if the H is brought in, how much will that little exercise cost and who carries the bill ?
a) All Road Signs in Area
b) All Street Maps
c) All Local Business – Change letter head, business cards, etc
d) GPS applications
e) All Companies that correspond with people in the area
One of the Massey Uni boffins should do a costing exercise, if it turns out that it will cost tens of millions of dollars (which it will do), just flick a couple of hundred $K at the local Iwi instead as settlement of the ‘grievance’.
It’s in times like these where we need to cut all frivolous expenditure.
Or the various affected parties could just update their bits and pieces as they fall due for replacement. Road signs are crashed into or vandalised regularly, businesses use their stationery up and re-order more, GPS applications are updated all the time, it doesn’t have to be a biggie.
The District Council should send the bill to Double Dipton, vidiot.
I’m sure his accommodation expenses will cover it, because road signs are the only ones that probably need attention immediately. Changing web presence costs stuff all, and the rest like letterheads can wait until existing stock runs out. As for businesses, well, it’s up to them. I can’t imagine anythign is going to go astray if they don’t use the “h”.
Way back in the 70’s I was fortunate enough to be in the middle of nowhere camping with a group of people which included a few Maori elders. I was young and these old chaps and I spent a few nights sitting around the fire talking shit about NZ, the stars and the stories of the past. I heard some really interesting stories in the timeless word of mouth fashion that legends are passed down via.
During one conversation I asked about the ‘wh’ sound and one of the old boys told me to stop talking like a educated white boy. He said to me;
Back when he was skipping off school speaking Maori in school earned you the cane. He also went on to say that having no written language the spelling of Maori words was entirely at the discretion of the English who were arrogant as hell about their language. He asked me – Do you really think that the arrogant English would have invented a new language construct to represent a sound they heard when that sound as spoken today was already well covered by the “ph” or “f” sound ?
He said the words were different from place to place anyway, and that the whole “wh” nonsense was getting out of hand. (remember this was the 70’s…)
I’m in no way saying having ‘wh’ is wrong for Whanganui, because the owners of that word/name have the right to dictate how it we should say and spell it – but that old boys words stuck with me at the time and ever since then I’ve wondered who really is right and wrong here.
Im on the side of the people, if they voted for the H, put it in, if the whole country had a vote to change the name of New Zealand to Aotearoa, and people voted for change, I say change it.
If 80% of people in a town vote for something, then do it, I dont think outsiders to the town should have a say, its about community.
lets see .. 170 or so years ago, some white guys turn up on the West Coast by a river and meet some local Maori and say “hi, my names Jon (or is it John), this is a nice place, what’s it called?” .. Wanganui they say .. really, how do you spell that? .. buggered if I know they say .. well then, says Jon, (or is it John), how about if we spell it Wanganui? .. looks ok to us say the locals and there we have it, simple.
BUT, there is always a but, a decade or so later, white guys and brown guys meet up and somewhere (maybe Petone which could be next) and get talking over some rum and roast kumera and they all notice that the Wanganui Maori talk funny .. or is it the other Maori talk funny (hard for me to know because I wasn’t there) anyway, they have a chat and decide that maybe there could be a translation problem. Now, from I have read, the Wanganui Maori were beaten up by both the Poms and fellow Maori during the wars so it was determind that the Wanganui tribes can’t speak properly so they lose again. Maybe if they were stronger, we would have Wangarei and Wakatane etc .. there you go, an alternative version and who was actually there to say I’m wrong.
gee I hear you say .. racist redneck.
ps .. couldn’t be bothered with all the ” ” and ?’s.
So Bored .. what is the correct pronounciation of Wanganui .. what about Whanau.
It would be good for you to compare with say Ms Turia. I wonder if you would be happy to be corrected and pronounce such words her way in future.
This is a good point but as an argument it falls down. There was only one dialect involved in the creation of the written Maori language over a few short years.
burt, I don’t see the point you’re making. Is it that the Wiremu-based orthography in current use does not represent the Whanganui dialect? If so, that is a matter for the Whanganui iwi to take up — not a bunch of latter-day settlers who don’t speak the dialect anyway (bar one word of it which they perversely claim isn’t a MÄori word anyhow).
The people whose dialect it is (that is, those who are guaranteed ‘possession’ of it under Article 2 of the Treaty) have made their decision. That’s the core rebuttal of all dialect-based arguments against Whanganui.
I think we are saying the same thing in different ways. I have no issues with the ‘h’. Really as far as I can see it’s the right of the people who claim ownership of the name to describe how it is said and ultimately how we should spell it.
I totally agree that the same words are said differently in different dialects and believe that was the case in NZ with Maori in the 1800’s. For some reason now we need to standardise it – this I disagree with. I don’t think it’s likely the English wrote down anything other than what they heard at the time and therefore separate dialects may not be adequately catered for with a single spelling as defined by a small group of 1800’s English speakers.
As far as I’m concerned if some Maori want to say ‘Wanau’ and others ‘Fanau’ then so what. Who are we to say that because it is starts with ‘Wh’ if must be said ‘Fa’ when we don’t allow alternate spellings.
thank god for Lew .. you are so right.
can you imagine a bloke from Liverpool going to any town/city in Yorkshire and telling the locals they don’t pronounce English correctly? bif/bash/smack.
What you are saying is the crux of what the problem is. The variation on how to say English words is hard enough so how an I suppose to get Maori correct when they can’t get it it the same themselves .. we need more Lews.
Or Rochelle’s. She routinely corrects her Maori surrogate fathers pronunciation with the full blessing of his mother and family. Lyn thinks that my spoken english is terrible because I know the words, their meaning, but I’ve only ever seen them written. I seem to be under tuition during most discussions with her.
On the other hand, I’m a master of the computer dialects. I lost count of how many I knew in my 20’s at about 45, and I routinely pick up 4 or 5 per year. I just finished sucking up python which took about 5 days to go from ignorance to literate. Next up is the WPF language xaml because I need to get directx into web pages.
“Correct” spelling can only exist if there is an existing written language. Even then correct spelling is contentious.
Maori was never a written language. It cannot therefore have a spelling.
All languages in constant and useful use are always changing in pronunciation,
and, if written, changing in spelling..
All languages, worldwide, have undergone huge changes in word adoption, adaptation, pronunciation and (God help us,spelling).
All languages have dialectical differences.
Spelling does not change pronunciation.
The way most pakeha pronounce “Taupo” or “Tauranga” is not the way most Maori
pronounce it (depending which part of the country they come from ,of course.)
In culturally secure countries pronunciation, let alone spelling , is a non event.
This whole topic is about Ken Mair trying to make himself important.
Peter, this issue rests on the question “When was the MÄori language?”
The answer is that it is. MÄori was not a written language, but it is one now (and has been one for almost a couple hundred years). There is now a universally-accepted orthography and lexicography, and a huge amount of documentation establishing the provenance and correctness of same. It is one of the most thoroughly-documented and well-used indigenous minority languages in the world. There is quite literally no credible dissent to these well-established norms. Under this system, there is one (1) spelling of the word meaning ‘big harbour’ after which the city at the mouth of the river of the same name was called, and it has an h in it.
This is not some countercultural mumbo-jumbo; this is quite simply how language works.
But, hey — it’s cool, if it gets your wheels spinning, keep at it. Your (and Michael Laws’) position is simply not supported by evidence. The more you keep at it, the more obvious you make this. Please — have at it.
Peter: So? Your argument shows an abysmal ignorance of the history of the english written language.
On that basis you’d also say that english has the same issue. It wasn’t formalised until the 18th century when the first dictionaries were written. Less than a century before Maori.
It wasn’t until the 16th century that any significant body of written literature emerged in english. It is largely unreadable to any modern reader because the spelling was pretty much up to the taste of the author. I’d suggest having a look in the rare books section of your local university or major public library.
English was and still is an oral language. The biggest group of english speakers in world are in the indian subcontinent. While they can out-talk almost any group that I know, it is as hard to understand them as it is to understand someone from Alabama.
The biggest written language in the world, Mandarin bears little resemblance to the spoken form of the language. For that matter the most ancient written languages in the western world like Latin and classical Greek show the same characteristics. We can read them, but we have no idea about how they were spoken – just a lot of guesswork.
Written languages only have a passing relationship with the spoken. What we are talking about here is a written bastardization of a place name by mapmakers who couldn’t ‘hear’ how the locals pronounced a name. Since it is a local Maori name, they should be able to determine the spelling.
Your arguments are just spurious. You claim an authority that simply doesn’t exist, about something you know little about. Personally I just ascribe it to an inherent mindless bigotry.
Yep… There is a reason for having an authoritative name for people, things and places. Personally I always pronounce Onehunga as One-hung-a and I won’t even attempt to to describe how I pronounce Newton or Ponsonby.
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
So, are you are calling the people of Wanganui racist? (in a round about way)
As we all know, the Right has, at times, harnessed a latent racism that runs deep in parts of this culture. We saw it with National’s Iwi/Kiwi and we see it in everything Lhaws does.
That’ll be unsettling for some.
With any luck he’ll form a political party and contest the 2011 election.
L
Didn’t the people vote to keep the spelling the way it was?
So bloody what. The evidence is that it is wrong.
Evidence or racist populism, Brett? Which side are you on?
Maybe we should have a vote on whether Brett’s name should be spelt ‘Brrt’.
It’s got onomatopoeic value, and after all, if lots of people think something should be so, it must be, mustn’t it?
L
In Brett’s honour, I propose that we vote whether you should say “should of” instead of “should have”.
Come on, MJ, don’t be so hard on him. He’s made huge progress in the last year – using apostrophes and everything now.
L
Come on now… Brrttt (opps) Breet deserves to have the correct spelling of his name, as surely as my name is Lyn, Lynne, or Lin….
I’d usually expect the name to be spelled the way of whomever gave it. I wouldn’t consider contradicting Brrrreeeeetttttttttt’s mother….
We’re all for democracy on this site Toad – you know “democracy under attack” and all that.
Yes, democracy is under attack in Auckland Daveski.
But democracy is not about some creepy little bigot running a plebicite after stirring up racist populism in Whanganui.
Don’t get me wrong toad – i very much enjoy your posts here and on Channel 2 and you seem to be both well connected and have well thought out positions.
However, in this case, you seem to show a bit of the arrogance and superiority with the liberal left – the people choose but only when we let them choose.
Personally, I have no view on the super shitty (long time since I left AK) but would have liked to see Maori seats. Happy to see Whanganui.
But if you think it’s only right that the majority can decide whether to proceed with the super city then you should have no issue with the majority deciding other matters of concern.
My view is that is what Governments are elected to do – make decisions.
I think this is all a massive waste of time, effort and money, however…
Correct me if I am wrong but wasn’t Maori an oral language prior to the settlor’s arrival – in which case how can there be any evidence suggesting the spelling of the name being correct or incorrect – surely any Maori spelling is going to come down to phonetics?
jagilby, I covered this in my submission to the NZGB.
Excerpt:
So, no.
L
Bah, and missed out the last bit …
L
Thanks Lew for clearing that up. Just wasn’t sure. Makes sense if they agreed on words to use them.
In any case I fail to see how this has suddenly become such an emotive issue nearly 170 years after the fact. With all due respect I think that Maoridom are facing far more pressing issues that don’t seem to elicit the same level of raw emotion. Anecdotally (through talking to Maori friends of mine etc) this is as much a frustration of Maori as it is the rest of the country… when will we stop placing so much focus on these minor issues?
“They don’t have different versions of written english for all the various ways she is spake throughout the world.The written version is fairly consistent.”
Sure but that was my point, My understanding was that Maori was an oral language, the same can’t be said for English (so I think you’re really grasping straws to link the two) – unless you are saying that Maori also developed the English alphabet through pure coincidence? The only way to initially derive a written Maori language surely must have been to use phonetics – as Lew pointed out with spellings being mutually agreed between Maori and Pakeha. The only thing I found interesting about your allusion to accents in this instance was the fact tha some have actually argued that it was the local W-h-anganui dialect the confused the spelling in the first place.
What I really can’t understand out of this whole affair though is that, of the 889 submissions received by the NZGB, 9 were neutral. Who goes to all the trouble/ has time to write a neutral submission???
capcha: thoughts
jagilby,
It’s always been an important issue, and people who care strongly about it have been using ‘Whanganui’ for decades (even though sometimes it means their mail ends up in Whangarei). It’s just only really come to a head now because people have only now exercised their access to the proper channels.
MÄori was an oral language, but it was quite quickly codified into a written orthography — several times, though the definitive one is H.W Williams’ A Dictionary of the MÄori Language (1844), in which both the words ‘whanga’ and ‘nui’ were included with those spellings. The language was rendered into written form according to a systematic process, as languages are – it wasn’t random or full of exceptions and oddities. The words have their ordinary meaning in the name, so there’s no reason at all why they shouldn’t have their ordinary spelling.
L
They don’t have different versions of written english for all the various ways she is spake throughout the world.The written version is fairly consistent.
‘Wanga’ as a part of the written version of the language doesn’t mean anything, it isn’t a word.
Lew,
Thanks for the explainations. Very informative.
I don’t dispute it is/was an issue… its relative importance as an issue, well I’m afraid that is something that that I dispute.
I just can’t believe that we are quite literally arguing semantics given all the other problems we face currently.
Discussion on Radio Live: it’s classic Key-speak (i.e. barely intelligible, because clarity is the enemy of popularity), but it sounds like he’s backing Laws:
MICHAEL LAWS: Well you know you may actually or your Government – well as you know will be the final arbiter on that. What’s your view of local democracy?
JOHN KEY: Yeah, well we try and listen to local people where we can. The – I don’t know, it’s a bit of an interesting debate, isn’t it?
MICHAEL LAWS: Well seriously – I just, you know, I didn’t mean to talk about that this morning but it will come to you, it will come to the Government because the final decision’s not made by the New Zealand Geographic Board.
But four out of five Wanganui people voted – at the referendum this year, I think 19,000 people voted, and 80 per cent of them said listen, keep things as they are. Is that persuasive for you?
JOHN KEY: Yeah, well, it sounds like a pretty strong argument. I haven’t waded my way through the whole thing other than just sort of occasionally hearing it, you know, bubbling along in the background. But, yeah, I mean in the end it should be ultimately the decision I would have thought for local people.
MICHAEL LAWS: Thank you. I’m delighted to hear that.
“Yeah, well we try and listen to local people where we can.”
Except in Auckland.
Did either Laws or Key manage a single intelligible sentence in that conversation?
Oh and in honour of Michael Laws’ insistence on incorrect spelling he shall henceforth be referred to as: Mikael Laus, Mare of Wanganui (until he learns to spell at which point Michael Laws, Mayor of Whanganui will be appropriate once more).
Rumour has it that Law’s is moving around the council buildings removing the H key from every keyboard he can find.
Probably..
Seems as sensible as banning gang patches and about as useful as making pi=3.0
But then hick legislators are good at representing their electorates………. Apologies in advance to Lew and others associated with the city…
None necessary, Lynn. I’ve made my position on the place and many of its people crystal clear.
L
It’s Lhaws and not Laws.
Here’s a story to cause confusion. It only works on radio, but it made me chuckle:
Radio NZ headline:
“Mair thrilled by decision to put the ‘h’ into Wanganui”
Heh.
Brilliant!
My name originates in France. When a Maori, Eskimo or Ethiopian etc spells or pronounces my name wrongly I politely correct them. I dont however give them the privelege of telling me how it really should be. Its mine and from my culture. Even if there are 4 Eskimos arguing I am wrong versus me (80% versus 20%) they are still wrong.
What about Whanganui belonging to Maori language and culture does Laws not understand? Who knows if Laws is racist? He is definitely ignorant.
I can’t help agreeing with Dr Grant – Whanganui was incorrectly spelt and and its misspelling offended the speakers of the language ‘lending’ the name. Mr Laws needs to take a deep breath and ponder….but, on reflection, it is a vain hope.
And perhaps Mr Key should remain silent on these things until briefed – one can see another clash with the Maori Party heading over the horizon if his government bends to Mr Laws’ position. And Mr Williamson is an ideal minister to make the final decision…..noted for his guarded prudence…..
what a dumb-assed comment from the PM. Maori is one of New Zealand’s national languages, therefore maori place names should be spelt correctly. It is beyond belief that this is an issue.
Use of a national language is not a matter for local referenda . ..
So if the H is brought in, how much will that little exercise cost and who carries the bill ?
a) All Road Signs in Area
b) All Street Maps
c) All Local Business – Change letter head, business cards, etc
d) GPS applications
e) All Companies that correspond with people in the area
One of the Massey Uni boffins should do a costing exercise, if it turns out that it will cost tens of millions of dollars (which it will do), just flick a couple of hundred $K at the local Iwi instead as settlement of the ‘grievance’.
It’s in times like these where we need to cut all frivolous expenditure.
Why would all the road signs in the area need replacing? Are all the roads being renamed to “Whanganui St”?
Won’t that be confusing?
Think of the bigger signs –
Wanganui 20Kms
Mt Egmont 35Kms
Bulls 50Kms
etc.
The ones that litter our country side telling you how far to travel to paradise.
Or the various affected parties could just update their bits and pieces as they fall due for replacement. Road signs are crashed into or vandalised regularly, businesses use their stationery up and re-order more, GPS applications are updated all the time, it doesn’t have to be a biggie.
Mt Egmont eh? Funny you mention that. Somehow we have managed to rename that and not go broke.
“Why would all the road signs in the area need replacing? Are all the roads being renamed to “Whanganui St’?
Won’t that be confusing?”
Funiest post I have read today 🙂
And yes, but it would be worth it to irritate Lhaws.
The District Council should send the bill to Double Dipton, vidiot.
I’m sure his accommodation expenses will cover it, because road signs are the only ones that probably need attention immediately. Changing web presence costs stuff all, and the rest like letterheads can wait until existing stock runs out. As for businesses, well, it’s up to them. I can’t imagine anythign is going to go astray if they don’t use the “h”.
Michael (silent h there) Laws is a total whanker
Re: the “Wh”.
Way back in the 70’s I was fortunate enough to be in the middle of nowhere camping with a group of people which included a few Maori elders. I was young and these old chaps and I spent a few nights sitting around the fire talking shit about NZ, the stars and the stories of the past. I heard some really interesting stories in the timeless word of mouth fashion that legends are passed down via.
During one conversation I asked about the ‘wh’ sound and one of the old boys told me to stop talking like a educated white boy. He said to me;
Back when he was skipping off school speaking Maori in school earned you the cane. He also went on to say that having no written language the spelling of Maori words was entirely at the discretion of the English who were arrogant as hell about their language. He asked me – Do you really think that the arrogant English would have invented a new language construct to represent a sound they heard when that sound as spoken today was already well covered by the “ph” or “f” sound ?
He said the words were different from place to place anyway, and that the whole “wh” nonsense was getting out of hand. (remember this was the 70’s…)
I’m in no way saying having ‘wh’ is wrong for Whanganui, because the owners of that word/name have the right to dictate how it we should say and spell it – but that old boys words stuck with me at the time and ever since then I’ve wondered who really is right and wrong here.
Toad
Im on the side of the people, if they voted for the H, put it in, if the whole country had a vote to change the name of New Zealand to Aotearoa, and people voted for change, I say change it.
If 80% of people in a town vote for something, then do it, I dont think outsiders to the town should have a say, its about community.
lets see .. 170 or so years ago, some white guys turn up on the West Coast by a river and meet some local Maori and say “hi, my names Jon (or is it John), this is a nice place, what’s it called?” .. Wanganui they say .. really, how do you spell that? .. buggered if I know they say .. well then, says Jon, (or is it John), how about if we spell it Wanganui? .. looks ok to us say the locals and there we have it, simple.
BUT, there is always a but, a decade or so later, white guys and brown guys meet up and somewhere (maybe Petone which could be next) and get talking over some rum and roast kumera and they all notice that the Wanganui Maori talk funny .. or is it the other Maori talk funny (hard for me to know because I wasn’t there) anyway, they have a chat and decide that maybe there could be a translation problem. Now, from I have read, the Wanganui Maori were beaten up by both the Poms and fellow Maori during the wars so it was determind that the Wanganui tribes can’t speak properly so they lose again. Maybe if they were stronger, we would have Wangarei and Wakatane etc .. there you go, an alternative version and who was actually there to say I’m wrong.
gee I hear you say .. racist redneck.
ps .. couldn’t be bothered with all the ” ” and ?’s.
It is amazing what makes the news these days, hasn’t NZ got bigger issues to deal with than to worry whether we have an “H” or not in Wanganui?
Are you referring to the important decision on what flag to fly on the harbour bridge?
“hasn’t NZ got bigger issues to deal with than to worry whether we have an “H’ or not in Wanganui?”
Yep. Laws should stop being so angry and sort out the many other problems in Whanganui instead of wasting his time defending a spelling mistake.
So Bored .. what is the correct pronounciation of Wanganui .. what about Whanau.
It would be good for you to compare with say Ms Turia. I wonder if you would be happy to be corrected and pronounce such words her way in future.
jabba: What’s the correct pronunciation of ‘route’? Or ‘tomato’? Depends on the dialect of who’s talking.
L
Lew
This is a good point but as an argument it falls down. There was only one dialect involved in the creation of the written Maori language over a few short years.
burt, I don’t see the point you’re making. Is it that the Wiremu-based orthography in current use does not represent the Whanganui dialect? If so, that is a matter for the Whanganui iwi to take up — not a bunch of latter-day settlers who don’t speak the dialect anyway (bar one word of it which they perversely claim isn’t a MÄori word anyhow).
The people whose dialect it is (that is, those who are guaranteed ‘possession’ of it under Article 2 of the Treaty) have made their decision. That’s the core rebuttal of all dialect-based arguments against Whanganui.
L
Lew
I think we are saying the same thing in different ways. I have no issues with the ‘h’. Really as far as I can see it’s the right of the people who claim ownership of the name to describe how it is said and ultimately how we should spell it.
I totally agree that the same words are said differently in different dialects and believe that was the case in NZ with Maori in the 1800’s. For some reason now we need to standardise it – this I disagree with. I don’t think it’s likely the English wrote down anything other than what they heard at the time and therefore separate dialects may not be adequately catered for with a single spelling as defined by a small group of 1800’s English speakers.
As far as I’m concerned if some Maori want to say ‘Wanau’ and others ‘Fanau’ then so what. Who are we to say that because it is starts with ‘Wh’ if must be said ‘Fa’ when we don’t allow alternate spellings.
Even though I dont particularly like her, I certainly would take her advice and be happy to be corrected. Its her language, not mine.
I thought this thread was about Ken Mair
thank god for Lew .. you are so right.
can you imagine a bloke from Liverpool going to any town/city in Yorkshire and telling the locals they don’t pronounce English correctly? bif/bash/smack.
What you are saying is the crux of what the problem is. The variation on how to say English words is hard enough so how an I suppose to get Maori correct when they can’t get it it the same themselves .. we need more Lews.
Jabba, try to keep up. If you don’t know how to pronounce or spell a language, leave it to those what do.
Honestly. It’s not rocket surgery.
L
Or Rochelle’s. She routinely corrects her Maori surrogate fathers pronunciation with the full blessing of his mother and family. Lyn thinks that my spoken english is terrible because I know the words, their meaning, but I’ve only ever seen them written. I seem to be under tuition during most discussions with her.
On the other hand, I’m a master of the computer dialects. I lost count of how many I knew in my 20’s at about 45, and I routinely pick up 4 or 5 per year. I just finished sucking up python which took about 5 days to go from ignorance to literate. Next up is the WPF language xaml because I need to get directx into web pages.
Different people, different skills.
JP .. it’s Kenneth
“Correct” spelling can only exist if there is an existing written language. Even then correct spelling is contentious.
Maori was never a written language. It cannot therefore have a spelling.
All languages in constant and useful use are always changing in pronunciation,
and, if written, changing in spelling..
All languages, worldwide, have undergone huge changes in word adoption, adaptation, pronunciation and (God help us,spelling).
All languages have dialectical differences.
Spelling does not change pronunciation.
The way most pakeha pronounce “Taupo” or “Tauranga” is not the way most Maori
pronounce it (depending which part of the country they come from ,of course.)
In culturally secure countries pronunciation, let alone spelling , is a non event.
This whole topic is about Ken Mair trying to make himself important.
Peter, this issue rests on the question “When was the MÄori language?”
The answer is that it is. MÄori was not a written language, but it is one now (and has been one for almost a couple hundred years). There is now a universally-accepted orthography and lexicography, and a huge amount of documentation establishing the provenance and correctness of same. It is one of the most thoroughly-documented and well-used indigenous minority languages in the world. There is quite literally no credible dissent to these well-established norms. Under this system, there is one (1) spelling of the word meaning ‘big harbour’ after which the city at the mouth of the river of the same name was called, and it has an h in it.
This is not some countercultural mumbo-jumbo; this is quite simply how language works.
But, hey — it’s cool, if it gets your wheels spinning, keep at it. Your (and Michael Laws’) position is simply not supported by evidence. The more you keep at it, the more obvious you make this. Please — have at it.
L
Peter: So? Your argument shows an abysmal ignorance of the history of the english written language.
On that basis you’d also say that english has the same issue. It wasn’t formalised until the 18th century when the first dictionaries were written. Less than a century before Maori.
It wasn’t until the 16th century that any significant body of written literature emerged in english. It is largely unreadable to any modern reader because the spelling was pretty much up to the taste of the author. I’d suggest having a look in the rare books section of your local university or major public library.
English was and still is an oral language. The biggest group of english speakers in world are in the indian subcontinent. While they can out-talk almost any group that I know, it is as hard to understand them as it is to understand someone from Alabama.
The biggest written language in the world, Mandarin bears little resemblance to the spoken form of the language. For that matter the most ancient written languages in the western world like Latin and classical Greek show the same characteristics. We can read them, but we have no idea about how they were spoken – just a lot of guesswork.
Written languages only have a passing relationship with the spoken. What we are talking about here is a written bastardization of a place name by mapmakers who couldn’t ‘hear’ how the locals pronounced a name. Since it is a local Maori name, they should be able to determine the spelling.
Your arguments are just spurious. You claim an authority that simply doesn’t exist, about something you know little about. Personally I just ascribe it to an inherent mindless bigotry.
peterlepaysan
I think spelling for place names is important. Spelling on maps and road signs is a proxy for the authoritative source of the spelling.
Pronunciation on the other hand, with you on that, being anal against different dialects is IMHO a sign of cultural immaturity.
Yep… There is a reason for having an authoritative name for people, things and places. Personally I always pronounce Onehunga as One-hung-a and I won’t even attempt to to describe how I pronounce Newton or Ponsonby.
“…I won’t even attempt to to describe how I pronounce Newton or Ponsonby.”
This I want to know.
“Maori was never a written language.”
This assertion is simply not true. Maori is a written language and has been since the early 19th century.
oh lew lew lew ,, Maori pronounce their own language with all sorts of variations but I guess you know best.
Jabba, that’s my point. That they say things all different-like.
L